Aline Templeton

The nature of crime fiction conventions is that one meets a great many people, often in a bit of a rush. It’s good, every now and then, to escape for a little while, to have a rather longer chat with someone and start getting to know them better.

Last Saturday at Harrogate was an example; I had lunch with the Scottish writer Aline Templeton, and the conversation ranged widely from Scottish nationalism, through the vagaries of the publishing business, to the Detection Club, of which Aline has been a member for several years.

Aline’s current series detective is DI Marjory Fleming, who features in Lying Dead, a novel I acquired before the festival was over. I’ve read the first few pages and it begins very promisingly. And Aline has kindly let me have a copy of her latest, Lamb to the Slaughter; something else to look forward to.

There was, however, almost a horrific end to our lunch. We’d decided to sit out in the all-too-rare sunshine. But the weather deteriorated and, out of the blue, a fierce gust of wind somehow blew over a huge umbrella on a metal pole, which came crashing down inches from Aline. I’m happy to report she was not only unharmed, but completely unfazed. Of course, at once the conversation turned to unusual methods of murder….